Tag Archives: 4th of July

We celebrated Independence Day this year with a shrimp boil at Aunt Haley’s House with the Graves family, minus Will and Anna, who were at Joe Daddy’s house for the holiday.

Aunt Haley had a sprinkler going, fully loaded bubble guns, and poppers (since we’re in a burn ban, plus two year olds and real fireworks aren’t always the greatest combo).

The girls sported their red, white, and blue outfits. Frugality tip: wait until a few days before the holiday and resale stores usually run great sales. We got these shirts for $1 each. New stores often do the same thing. My friend, Paige, scored adorable ones for $3.99 from either Gymboree or the Children’s Place (I can’t remember). Plus, unlike some of the other holidays, these are easier to wear throughout the year.

I love buying clothes from the resale store. It’s almost always in great shape and it makes me feel very “green.” You know, like I’m saving the world, one preowned outfit at a time?!? The downside to buying clothes at a resale shop is if you want your multiples or even singles to match, it’s not always easy. Every once in a while I’ll find two of something in the right sizes and I snatch them up. Even though I’m a “matchy-matchy mom,” I’m ok with them just coordinating to save a few bucks. Oh, the sacrifices I make to save money…

Or, if you really want to save money, just put your kid in clothes they already have. That works pretty well too and is obviously a lot easier!

Enough of the frugality tips…..

As you’ll see below, we had a fantastic, fun time on the 4th. So fun, in fact, we didn’t even stay awake long enough that evening to see any fireworks. Yet, even without the fireworks, it was still a wonderful day. I hope everyone had a great holiday as well!

It’s just not Independence Day if you don’t make something red, white, and blue. I scoured Pinterest, looking for a healthy patriotic dish that wasn’t a dessert. I happened upon this recipe for Blueberry, Strawberry & Jicama Salsa by Maria and Josh of Two Peas and Their Pod.

It immediately jumped out at me because of how different it is. And, I’ll admit, I was a Jicama virgin until today but I’m loving its crunchy texture.

I didn’t follow the exact recipe above because it is Independence Day and I am free to do things my way. Or, more likely, I just didn’t want to follow their exact measurements.

Ingredients:

1 lb fresh strawberries, diced

1 lb fresh blueberries

1 jicama (mine was almost 1 lb), diced

1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped

2 jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped

3/4 cup Cilantro, chopped

Juice of 2 small limes

Directions:

Mix everything in a large bowl. Serve either cold or room temperature.

It’s great with chips but I paired it with pan-fried tilapia and grilled corn on the cob.

Garen really liked it and so did I. He said that the cilantro, pepper and lime offset the sweetness of the fruit very well. He even liked it with fish, even though he’s not a huge fish fan. He requested it for dinner tomorrow night so it must be good.